Red Haired Guardian Angel
by DeathRavenLove
Summary: Roxas, a boy haunted by the shadows of his past. Axel, an angel sent to watch over the boy. Can Axel help Roxas overcome his past? Slight AkuRoku, Character death


**A/N: Oh wow… This is supposed to be for AkuRoku day, but it completely took me by surprise. I was just chilling out, and then I was like "OMG, What day is it?!" Erh anyways… This is going to be a pretty long oneshot, but it will stay a oneshot. Too lazy to elaborate on this certain idea… Oh well, hope you enjoy!**

**Happy belated AkuRoku Day!**

**Roxas: Belated? You don't love me!!!11**

**Me: I love you!**

**Axel: Back off! Blondie's mine! *Gropes***

**Roxas: *Slaps* Pervert!**

**Me: Erh… Yeah… How did we come to this again? 0.o**

**Oh yeah, one more thing. Warnings, I guess, just because. **

**Warnings: angst, some rough language although not excessive, some Kairi bitchiness/bashing, uhm... Is that it? Sorry, I don't know how these things work... **

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

* * *

"_Roxas!"_

"_You little piece of shit! Get back here!"_

"_Roxas! Run! Call the police!"_

"_Stay there boy! Or you're going to go next!"_

"_Roxas, run!"_

--

Roxas shot out of bed, panting and gasping, trying to calm his heart down. Another dream… This time, even more vivid than the last. Roxas looked out the window to see the sun barely peeking over the horizon. Roxas sighed and shakily got out of bed, knowing that any more attempts to go to bed would be futile. Roxas walked to the bathroom, taking off his shirt and just letting fall onto the floor on the way. Right now, he wasn't in the mood to be worried about the cleanliness of his home. Roxas quickly stripped himself of his pajama pants and walked into the shower, turning on the hot faucet. He let the burning spray of water pelt his back as he tried to focus on something else other than his dream.

--

Roxas was out of the shower and was done with all his morning rituals in a manner of 20 minutes. His normal ensemble consisted of a white shirt over a black collared zipper vest. His pants black at the top, but once it reached to the thighs area, it cut off to a beige color. Roxas then slipped on a black and white checkered wristband onto his left wrist. He moves a hand through his still slightly wet hair to make sure it didn't completely fall over his eyes. When Roxas was satisfied with the way he looked, he went into the kitchen and popped two pieces of whole wheat bread into the toaster. After they were done, Roxas took them out, spreading some peanut butter on one and some grape jelly on the other. He smashed the two pieces of bread together and bit into it. He munched slowly, as if by eating slower, than time would also slow down for him. However, he finished his sandwich all to quickly, and soon, he was out the door with his backpack swung over his right shoulder.

The blond-haired boy took out his keys and locked the door. He then swung around his house to the storage shed where he opened the lock on that to pull out his blue and white skateboard. He put it down as he locked the storage shed. Once he was done with all that, he boarded his skateboard and zoomed off into the streets.

No cars were out this early in the morning; Just the way Roxas liked it. Roxas increased his momentum, loving the feeling of flying through his neighborhood on his trusty skateboard. The wind brushed through his hair, as he did performed a jump while spinning his skateboard underneath him with a deft trick of his legs. In a manner of 10 minutes, Roxas had already arrived at his high school. Hollow Bastion High.

Roxas sighed as he trudged into the barely awake school. Close to no one ever came to school at 7:12 am because classes started at 8:30 am sharp. Roxas walked through the quiet hallways, his own shoes barely making any sound. He turned down a corridor towards another hallway, but immediately stopped when something caught his eye.

--

"I want you to go to Hollow Bastion," a voice said almost imploringly to a teenager standing before him. He couldn't have been over 20, and his red hair shot back in a myriad of spikes.

"For what?" the teen with red hair asked to a shorter figure.

"Because you're the only one that is free," The shorter figure pleaded. "You're an elite seraph, so you have the free time! Can you please watch over someone for me? He was very precious to me when I was still alive."

The taller teen looked to the side and sighed. Those blue orbs were just too cute, especially when paired with those perfect pouty lips. "You know I can't deny you when you're like this," the taller one said.

"Yay!" the smaller one cheered, jumping forward and hugging the taller figure. "Thank you Axel!"

The taller figure, Axel, petted soft spiky brown hair. "Anything for you I guess… So, who am I gonna be watching?"

--

Roxas stopped as he saw a red spiky-haired teen with wings made of fire standing there in the open light. The wings made of fire had a thin strip of flame the wrapped around the figure's upper body. In a certain light, the figure almost looked angelic, with the morning light pouring down his entire frame. Roxas stared in awe as he saw the figure turn around. His deep cerulean eyes met sharp turquoise green eyes as the mysterious teen locked eyes with him.

"Hmm?" the teen said, breaking the silence of the early morning. The sound was almost foreign to Roxas, because it was just too early for any sound of voice to exist at all. "Who are you?"

"Roxas," Roxas stated, completely unaware that he had just done so. As if held captive by this man, he felt his heart beat slightly faster, although he did not know why. He no longer had control of his own conscious thoughts.

"Roxas, eh?" The fiery-haired teen said, his voice piercing through Roxas's hazy mind. His voice was slightly deep, although it was sharp and slightly sexy. However, Roxas wouldn't be saying that anytime soon. "So you're Roxas? Well I gotta admit, you do look like your bro. I-"

Before Axel could say anything else, Roxas immediately began shouting. "What?! How do you know my brother?! What the hell are you talking about?!"

Axel looked a bit shocked at the outburst, but immediately dismissed it as he saw Roxas visibly shaking. Did he say something he wasn't supposed to say? "Listen Rox," he said, stepping forward and out of the light. His wings of fire immediately dissipated, as if they were only an illusion. "Are you okay? I didn't mean to mention your bro, but I won't say anything else about him if you don't want me to."

"Why are you here?" Roxas asked, still just as loudly, although there was more control in his voice. "How do you know my brother?"

Axel sighed. "How am I gonna explain this to a human…?" he mumbled to himself. Suddenly he looked up and stared at Roxas. Roxas's blue eyes seemed to be intently watching him, as if he was some mysterious creature from another world. Axel smirked. "Alright kid, look. I'm an angel. Got it memorized?"

"What?" Roxas said, a bit disbelievingly. "You're not. Angels are graceful and heavenly. And they have wings. You are the complete opposite with your hair and everything else."

"Ouch," Axel said, with mock hurt. "A jab to the hair… That's cold… Well, those are just stereotypes of angels. And you already saw my wings."

"…Then how do you know my brother?" Roxas asked, dismissing his first question. He couldn't believe it, but he might actually be falling for this ridiculous tale.

"Well, your brother is also an angel," Axel explained nonchalantly. "He asked me to watch over you, and well… here I am!" He smirked at Roxas who simply stared back at the man. They both stared at each other until Roxas could've sworn he saw sparks fly out.

Finally, Roxas turned around and said, "You lie. My brother is dead. You are just someone who wants to torture me about my brother…"

"Roxas…" Axel said, looking over at the younger sibling. Sora was always full of energy, and while he was strong-willed, he knew how to be cute to get things his way. This kid was so dejected and broken…

"He's dead alright!" Roxas screamed out, his voice resounding and bouncing back and forth throughout the empty halls. Suddenly, it occurred to him. As his voice bounded through the empty halls, he heard it all again. The reality that he was alone. The reality that both his father and his older brother were dead. Tears started to form in Roxas's blue eyes.

"Roxas?" Axel asked, stepping forward and holding out a hand. While they were quite a distance away, Axel had seen humans do it before, and maybe it was some kind of comforting method. However, that all went down the drain as Roxas turned around and shot straight out of the building. "Roxas! Wait!" Axel immediately ran, not even sure why, chasing after the blond boy that was supposedly his friend's little brother. 'For a little guy, he sure can run quick,' Axel thought to himself as he ran out of the building only to find the distant figure of a blond boy on a skateboard. 'Crap,' Axel thought as he immediately gave chase to the skateboarding boy.

Roxas skated down the corridors of Hollow Bastion, through the empty streets, and through the walkways. He didn't care where he went. He just wanted to leave. To be free of the oppressive feeling that had been holding his heart for the past five years. Tears slid down his cheek as he skated blindly through Hollow Bastion. While he did know most of the big town, he tried to avoid Bailey, which he knew led to the Reconstruction Site. However, as if by some unknown force, Roxas felt himself riding towards the Reconstruction Site

--

"Alright," a voice rang out loud and clear. "Just move that pipe there slowly. Leon, can you give Cloud a hand? He looks like he's having trouble."

"I'm fine," Cloud said, as he panted slightly. Carrying giant bags of cements was just not easy…

"Let me give you a hand, you idiot," Leon said, as he helped the blond carry the heavy bags to where the giant machine was waiting. "Alright, we're done Riku! Bring in those bricks!"

"Alright!" the voice rang back. A teenage with silver hair that fell down to his shoulders operated a claw machine that carried a platform full of bricks. He used the machine to place the bricks down right in front of his two colleagues.

"Great!" Leon yelled back. "Now get you are ass down here and help us with this!"

"Yea yea yea," Riku said dismissively as he turned off the machine and jumped off to help his colleagues/friends. He didn't really know what to call Leon and Cloud, but at least they weren't enemies. However, before he could walk up to them, something rammed into him from the back, effectively knocking the air out of him. As whatever rammed into him and he started falling to the floor, Riku immediately spun around, turning to see a shock of spiky blond hair. "Oof!" Riku called out as he fell onto the floor, taking the damage for both him and the sobbing blond on top of him. However, the blond was too lost in his own world to even realize Riku had been hurt. "Shh, shh," Riku said comfortingly as he petted Roxas's hair. He knew Roxas hated this, but these were the only times Roxas tolerated it, if he even knew what Riku was doing. It wasn't everyday that he saw the stubborn blond cry, and when he did, he usually knew what it was about. "He's in a better place Roxas. He's watching over you now…"

"I'm so sorry Riku!" Roxas cried out. Riku looked at the younger figure in pity. Whenever anyone brought up the fact that Sora was dead, Roxas would always blame himself for it.

"It's not your fault," Riku said to Roxas, the familiar words slipping from his mouth. He had said it a hundred times, and he would continue to say it a hundred times.

"Yes it is!" Roxas yelled out, his voice muffled partly from his sobbing and partly from shouting it into Riku's shirt. "Kairi blames me for Sora's death and you probably do too! If I was only stronger, than Sora wouldn't have died!"

"It's not true…" Riku said, burying his head into Roxas's hair. He always took a whiff whenever he could. As bad as it may seem, Roxas always reminded him of Sora. "Kairi's just a bitch. I'm sorry that she is one year below me so I can't be at high school to defend you anymore, but I want you know something. I don't blame you for Sora's death. Your father was a bastard, and Sora loved you that much to give his life for you." Somewhere in the middle of all that, Leon and Cloud had both come over to see what was taking Riku so long. When they saw Roxas, they immediately shut their mouths and walked off, choosing to get back to work than to bother the angst-ridden blond. "Sora loves you. I love you. You have to be strong Roxas, because Sora and I will always be here for you. Okay?"

Roxas didn't say anything, but Riku knew he was listening. His sobs started to decrease, and soon, he was just sniffling. Roxas soon got off of Riku, and Riku stood up, stretching a little. "Wow, have you been getting heavier?" Riku joked, although it didn't really seem to be working.

"Roxas!" another voice called out. Both Riku and Roxas turned around to see a spiky red-haired teen run up the hill, all the while panting. When he was done recovering, he looked up to see Roxas and Riku. He smiled and ran down to where they were. "Roxas!" he greeted. "I found you!"

Roxas, instead of responding, hid behind Riku's arm like he was some great protective shield. Axel smiled to himself at that. Roxas looked so cute and childish.

"Who are you?" Riku asked sternly, pushing Roxas behind his back to completely hide him.

"You must be Riku!" Axel stated, smiling to himself.

"Answer the question!" Riku yelled.

"Y'know, Sora talks about you a lot," Axel remarked almost wistfully. "He's always Riku this, Riku that. He cares about you a lot, even after life."

"…" Rike didn't respond. He seemed shocked. "H-How do you know Sora?"

Axel sighed. "Man, another person I gotta explain it to… Okay, I'm an angel. I was sent by Sora, who's also an angel to watch over little blondie there. He wants me to watch his 'dear little brother' or something."

"How do I know you're an angel?" Riku asked, not believing the story for one minute.

Axel shrugged, and the next second, wings of fire appear around his body out of nowhere. "That proof enough? The name's Axel, by the way. Got it memorized?"

"…" Both Roxas and Riku stared at Axel in amazement, ignoring his question completely.

"What?" Axel asked a bit nervously, letting the wings dissipate once again. "They're not that amazing. Everyone has them…"

"You said Sora told you to watch over me," Roxas said, moving from behind Riku to stand in front of Axel. "How do I know you're telling the truth!?"

Axel was taken aback by the forcefulness of the younger boy, but he didn't let it show. He smirked, and closed his eyes. "Well," he said, opening his eyes again. "Sora did expect you to say something like that. He said you were always smart like that." Axel reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace with a crown pendant at the end. Both Roxas and Riku gasped. "He said that this was his favorite necklace. He also said you helped him pick it out when you were seven. Am I right?"

"…" Roxas stepped forward and snatched the crown necklace from Axel's hand. He turned it over and there, engraved on the back, was a short message.

_I will always love you, Roxas._

_-Sora_

Roxas stared at the pendant in his hand. The message that was engraved on the pendant Roxas now held in his hand was the very same one on the pendant that Sora had been buried with five years ago. Roxas didn't even realize he had started crying again until the tears started sliding down his cheek. He reached up to wipe them, but was stopped as someone else's hand came up to wipe away the tears. Roxas looked up to see Axel standing there.

"It's okay to cry Roxas," he said, wiping away a few more tears. Roxas rushed into Axel's arms, his tears now wetting Axel's black coat. Axel instinctively wrapped his arms around Roxas's small form. Axel ran his hands through Roxas's spiky hair, relishing in how soft it was. Axel didn't know why he did it. He just did it.

Riku looked at the scene and then up at the sky. For some reason, it just looked too personal. Not having to deal with the younger blond for once, Riku started thinking about his own issues. He missed Sora a great deal. He may have even loved him at a time, although when Sora started seeing Kairi, Riku felt sad but he wanted his brunette friend to be happy. However, soon after Sora died, Kairi blamed Roxas for all of it. Riku wondered if he would've turned out like Kairi if he had been dating Sora. Riku watched the clouds roll by until he had to blink suddenly to make sure he was really seeing what he was seeing. A very intricate cloud formation in the sky spelled out "SR 4Ever."

--

Roxas didn't go back to school that day. Instead, he cried himself asleep in Axel's arms, and Axel said that he would take him home. While Riku was reluctant to leave Roxas alone, he eventually agreed, and Axel was able to bring the little blond home.

Roxas was sitting on the couch in the small living room while doing his homework. Axel was busy doing something else somewhere else. Roxas didn't really care. Roxas had accepted the fact that Axel would watch over him, and while he did not state it to him, he figured that Axel already knew.

While Roxas was thinking, he didn't even see Axel come up and put a picture in front of his face. "I didn't know you had a mom," Axel stated curiously. "Sora never said anything about your mom… He only ever talked about you and your father who is respectfully burning in hell right now."

Roxas smiled a little as he looked at the picture. It showed a long brown haired woman smiling while she was carrying a happy looking young boy with somewhat spiky brown hair. Her stomach seemed to be quite big, and next to her was a smiling man with short-layered blonde hair. Roxas's smiled turned a little forlorn. All three of them seemed to be so happy… Before he was born that is. "Yea… She's my mom."

"What happened to her?" Axel asked, apparently not sensing the change in Roxas's voice or façade. Roxas sighed.

"She died while giving birth to me," Roxas said, closing his eyes. He would not cry again. He had already got over it, so why would he cry about it now?

"Oh…" Axel muttered. He instantly took the picture away. "Uhm, well… What's for dinner?"

"I don't feel like cooking today…" Roxas mumbled, still getting over his memories. "How about you go order pizza?"

"Aye aye," Axel said, standing up and stalking out of the room to find a phone. When Axel had left, Roxas finally let his tears flow freely.

--

"_Roxas!"_

"_You little piece of shit! Get back here!"_

"_Roxas! Run! Call the police!"_

"_Stay there boy! Or you're going to go next!"_

"_Roxas, run!"_

_A ten year old Roxas bolted from where he was cowering against the wall. A roar rang out, coming from the man that was glaring at the little boy. Just as he was about to pounce on the ten year old's form, another person jumped onto the man's back._

"_Get the hell off of me!" the man yelled out, thrashing about wildly. The other person, however, clung on strongly, even when he was smashed against the wall several times._

_Roxas ran into the living room, picking up the phone that was on the ground. He pressed "911" with his small fingers, and a female voice rang out. "Hello," it said pleasantly, contrary to the gloomy atmosphere, "911 services. Please state your emergency."_

"_Help!" Roxas cried out. "Daddy is going to kill Sora if I don't do anything! Send somebody quick!"_

"_Hang on, we have the police coming to your residence," the voice said, as another roar rang out. Roxas looked up at the doorway, to see a bruised up Sora being thrown into the room. The man, their father, walked in, his eyes burning with anger. "I'm gonna make you regret doing that you son of a bitch," he said as he raised a gun._

"_SORA!"_

"Roxas!" Axel called out, shaking the younger boy's small frame rapidly. Roxas opened his crystal blue eyes, looking at the taller man's frame with fear in his eyes. "Are you alright?" Axel asked, as he looked down at the younger boy.

Roxas, for about the third time that day, pulled Axel closer and sobbed into his chest. Axel sighed, partly in relief and partly in frustration, as he brought his hand through Roxas's hair repeatedly, stroking it. "Shh, shhh," he said soothingly, trying to console the sobbing blond. "It was just a nightmare. It's over and I'm here watching you. I won't let anyone or anything touch you." Soon, Roxas had calmed down. He laid back down and closed his eyes, trying his best to fall asleep. Axel smiled at the blond and kissed his forehead before standing up. Just as he was about to turn and leave, he felt a hand pull at his wrist. Axel turned around to look at Roxas with a pleading look in his eyes.

"Please stay," Roxas said quietly. Axel smiled at how adorable Roxas looked and nodded.

"Anything for you, Roxie," Axel said, opening the covers and getting in himself. Roxas, completely ignoring the nickname, burrowed himself into Axel's chest. Axel wrapped his arms around the younger boy's frame, as if he could protect his charge from all the terrible dreams. He continued to stroke Roxas's hair until Roxas fell into a dreamless sleep.

--

Roxas felt like shit the next morning, and he knew exactly why. One, it was because of the nightmare last night. Two, it was Sora's birthday, a sore spot for the blond. Three, bad nightmares always happened on the night before Sora's birthday, hence number one. Four, there was an obsessive redheaded stalker that wouldn't leave him alone for even a second…

"Will you stop following me?!" Roxas asked/yelled, turning around to the redhead who was not even three feet behind him. Axel had been following him to all his classes, and then waiting outside for him when he got out. Right now, he was heading to his fourth period, and Axel was still following him madly. 'More like stalking,' Roxas thought to himself.

"I'm supposed to protect you," Axel said noncommittally. "At least I'm giving you some freedom by letting you go to classes by yourself."

"Yea, but you don't have to follow me like a bloodhound!" Roxas yelled. "I can take care of myself, alright?!" Axel raised an eyebrow, but he did not have a chance to retort before Roxas moved away in a huff. Roxas blindly stomped towards his next class, not even caring for anyone else. When he made it to the stalker-free zone of his classroom, Roxas walked to his usual seat and took the moment to calm down. When he opened the eyes he didn't even know he had closed, he was greeted with the sight of a pale blonde-haired girl.

"Hi Roxas," she said, as she took her seat next to him. "You weren't here yesterday, so I have all your homework and notes for yesterday."

Roxas smiled slightly. Naminé had always been looking out for him. Her older sister was Kairi, and because Kairi and Sora were _such_ good friends, it was only natural that Roxas should befriend the blonde artist. Out of all the people in the world, the only ones that Roxas would ever trust were Riku, Naminé, and Sora…

"Thanks Naminé," Roxas said. "I had… a few things to do yesterday."

"Does it involve your new red-haired friend?" Naminé asked intuitively.

"How do you do that Naminé?" Roxass asked, his smile turning just a bit bigger. Naminé giggled. "Yea… It's got to do with him. He's… erh… my new guardian for a while."

"Oh…" Naminé said. She seemed like she wanted to say more, but the teacher had already walked in and started the lesson. Both blonds quieted down to pay attention to the lesson.

--

"So, Roxas," Naminé said as they walked from their shared fourth period class to the lunchroom, "wanna sit together at lunch?"

Before Roxas had a chance to respond, however, Axel came up between them, effectively separating them. "Sure!" he called out. "I'm starving!"

Roxas glared at Axel, while Naminé smiled at the newcomer. "You must be Axel. I've heard a lot about you."

"Really," Axel said, as if he was really intrigued. He looked at Roxas while saying, "Good things, I hope."

Naminé giggled. "Well, my name is Naminé. It is a pleasure to meet you Axel."

"Pleasure is mine," Axel said, while taking Naminé's right hand and kissing it. Naminé giggled again.

"Oh please," Roxas said, as he walked on ahead. Both Axel and Naminé looked at each other a little worriedly, and picked up their pace to catch up with their blond friend. As they stepped into the lunchroom, all three of them looked around to see kids chatting amiably, albeit loudly, with their friends. As Naminé spotted the place where she wanted to sit, she turned to Axel.

"Axel," she said, as she pulled out a ten dollar bill. "Could you please go buy the lunches for us three. It's on me, and don't worry, you can keep the change." Axel smirked and nodded, as he walked off to the long line of hungry students. Before Roxas had time to protest about his lunch getting paid for, he was suddenly being pulled along by Naminé. "C'mon," she said. "Don't worry about it too much. It's on me today, alright? You have enough to deal with today." Roxas reluctantly nodded, although Naminé wasn't really looking back at him.

As they came sat down at an empty seat, Roxas just let his mind wander while Naminé took out her drawing pad. In her free time, Naminé loved to draw anything and everything, from simple cartoons and caricatures to beautiful and expansive landscapes. Pretty soon, the two blonds felt another presence at the table, but instead of the fiery blazing red they expected to see, they saw a more sophisticated wine-colored red. Both pairs of eyes turned to Kairi, Naminé's older sister. And boy, did she look pissed.

"So, it's you," Kairi said, as she sneered at Roxas. Roxas tried to look away and ignore her, but that never worked. "Riku's not here to protect you anymore. Do you know what day it is?"

"Kairi…" Naminé said, urging her older sister to stop.

"Shut up Naminé!" Kairi yelled in a tone that she did not use very often. She rarely ever went aggressive, and never against her little sister. "Today is Sora's birthday isn't it?" she asked, turning back to Roxas.

"S-So…?" Roxas asked, cursing himself for stammering. Kairi merely glared harder.

"Don't say so!" she yelled. "It's your fault that Sora died, and you know it! Why couldn't you have done more? Sora died protecting you, and you aren't even grateful for it!"

"K-Kairi…" Naminé said, feeling the hatred in the words. And they weren't even directed at her. He looked at Roxas who seemed to be having a tougher time of dealing with it. Generally, Kairi usually just avoided Roxas, but it was days like these where she verbally attacked Roxas. At least Roxas wasn't shaking… yet…

"I was his girlfriend!" Kairi yelled. "We were happy, Sora, Riku, and I. But then you had to be weak and Sora got killed protecting you! Then when it's all over, Riku goes over on your side, saying you didn't do anything! He's just protecting you because Sora always liked you! You know what?" By this time, Kairi herself was close to tears, and she was also shaking slightly. Some would think she had gone mad. "I think Sora actually pitied you. You were always tagging along with us. That's why he cared so much for you, because he pitied you. And then, he died for you, and you're not grateful! Well where does that leave me?! I was his girlfriend, and I can't just go on without him! But you act like it's nothing! Like you don't care! I wouldn't be surprised if you killed Sora yourself!"

That was the last straw. By then, Roxas had already bolted, running out of the lunchroom, tears flying past him. "Kairi…" Naminé said, shocked that her sister had said all those things. She knew she could never experience what Kairi did when Sora died, but she still didn't have to say those things about Roxas. Roxas suffered everyday with the reminder of Sora.

Kairi looked at her sister through teary eyes. "What?" she asked, threateningly. A tall figure walked behind Kairi. Kairi, noticing something weird, turned around to see a fuming redhead. "What's your problem?" she asked, but she was promptly cut off with a slap to the face. She gasped and looked at Axel in shock.

"Shut up bitch," Axel said coldly, glaring at Kairi. "You didn't have to say those things to Roxas. You don't know what he has gone through. While you only care for yourself, you don't see the pain that others are going through. You know what? I'm glad Sora never mentioned you. You're probably gonna go to hell anyways." With that, Axel turned around and ran out of the lunchroom, intent of finding Roxas.

--

Roxas skated home as quickly as he could. He didn't know why he was going home, but he felt a strong urge that was pulling him home. Back to the incident of 5 years ago… Roxas skated faster, trying to not let his thoughts catch up to him. He had often wondered why he was alive and why Sora wasn't. Was it some form of poetic justice? Was it because Sora was not worthy enough to live? Or was it simply because there was a gun aimed at Sora…?

--

"_Hang on, we have the police coming to your residence," the voice said, as another roar rang out. Roxas looked up at the doorway, to see a bruised up Sora being thrown into the room. The man, their father, walked in, his eyes burning with anger. "I'm gonna make you regret doing that you son of a bitch," he said as he raised a gun._

_Sora looked up to see the gun being pointed at him. His eyes widened slightly, as he slowly moved to get up. Suddenly, the gun rang out. "Ahhh!" Sora screamed out, as the bullet shot through his left should, creating a bloody red hole._

"_SORA!" Roxas cried out. Their father turned toward Roxas, with the gun cocked at him._

"_You're next boy," the man said, his finger gripping the trigger. Roxas closed his eyes in anticipation of the shot. Another shot rang out, although Roxas did not feel anything was hit. Roxas slowly opened his eyes to see Sora standing there, a knife to their father's chest. The gun was pointed at Sora, and another hole was there, this one on Sora's chest and a lot more blood was gushing out. Blood oozed out of both bodies as their father's body fell to the floor, dead. The knife had pierced his heart._

_Sora however, swayed back slightly and collapsed on the floor, gasping for air. "Sora!" Roxas cried out, as he crawled over to the prone body on the floor. Right now, he didn't trust his legs to carry him. When Roxas made it over to his older brother, he saw that his breath was labored and he was very pale. "Hang on Sora!" Roxas called out. "The police are almost here! They'll call an ambulance, and you'll be okay!"_

_Sora slowly opened his eyes and looked at Roxas. "Roxas…" he mumbled out, before closing his eyes again._

"_Don't talk," Roxas said, looking at Sora's wounds. There were two bullet holes, one in his left shoulder, the other in his chest… Right next to his heart… Roxas gasped, as tears threatened to escape his eyes. "Please Sora! Don't die!"_

_Sora slowly opened his eyes once again. He smiled a small forlorn smile. "Roxas… You shouldn't have to have gone through all that abuse…"_

"_Sora!" Roxas cried out, looking up at his brother's lucid eyes._

"_Roxas," Sora said, closing his eyes. It hurt so much to keep them open for long. "I'm not gonna live."_

"_Don't be silly, brother!" Roxas said, tears starting to slide down his cheek. "You will live! And then we will look back on this day and laugh."_

_Sora laughed, although it came out as a weak chuckle. "Well, not me. Maybe you, Rox. I'm not gonna live through today, and that's true." He opened his eyes, once more. However, this time, he stared straight at Roxas. "You have to promise to me that you will live," he said. "I don't want you dying to soon, alright? When you die, I'll be there, and I want you to tell me everything you've done. But now, it's my time."_

"_SORA! Please don't leave me!" Roxas cried out in desperation._

"_Goodbye little brother," Sora said, closing his eyes, his breath starting to even out. "I love you…" Roxas didn't say anything else. He only buried his head into Sora's bloody shirt, and refused to let go._

_When the police arrived, they found one 43 year old blond male dead from a knife wound to the chest, one 14 year old brunette male dead from blood loss and two gun shots, and one 10 year old blond male found unconscious on top of the dead brunette._

--

Roxas opened his eyes as the memories of the day came flooding back. He dug his hand into the bottom of the cushion of a chair. He withdrew a knife that still had bloodstains on it. He looked at it. It was a simple kitchen knife, although it was sharp and could easily cut skin. Roxas remembered the trial and how he had stolen it. He remembered stashing it underneath this cushion, and he remembered never sitting on it, specifically because his father had always sat here. He remembered the promise he had made to his brother about how he wouldn't die. Roxas closed his eyes and silently said to himself, 'I'm sorry brother. But I can't keep that promise.'

Roxas slowly drew the knife towards his left wrist. He traced the vein that ran down his arm lightly, allowing it to break skin ever so lightly. As blood oozed out, Roxas felt a small tingle of pain. He decided to get it over with. Roxas raised the blade, and slashed down in a quick fluid motion, leaving a huge gash down his left arm. Roxas didn't even cry out in pain as he laid down, dropping the knife on the floor, and cradling his left arm to his chest. Blood seeped from his arm onto his shirt, but Roxas didn't care anymore. He didn't care. He just wanted to sleep…

--

"Roxas!" Axel called out as he opened the door to the house. It was unlocked. With a sense of trepidation, Axel ran into the living room, and gasped at what he saw. Roxas was bleeding excessively by the arm, and he looked really pale. Axel quickly ran to the phone in the other room and dialed "911." A lady picked up, her voice old and weathered with age. Still, her kind voice helped remind Axel to remain calm in situations such as this. "Hello, 911 services. Please state your emergency."

"I have a bleeding boy here!" Axel yelled into the phone. "Please send an ambulance!"

"Hang on, we have an ambulance heading to your residence," the lady over the phone said. "Please stay on the line so we can track your signal." Axel didn't hear any more after that. He put the phone on the table and picked up Roxas's limp body. "C'mon Roxas…" he ground out, staring at the blond's pale form. "Please be alive… I don't know what it is, but… If you weren't here on this Earth, I think the world would be a sadder place. Please pull through!" Soon, the police arrived, and although Axel let them take Roxas, he stayed by his side until he was ushered out of the surgical room. Now all he could do was wait…

--

Roxas wearily blinked his eyes open. He saw the bright light coming in from the window, and as it bounced all around the white room, it just seemed to blind him even more. And that constant beeping noise was definitely not helping…

"Roxas!" a voice called out, prompting Roxas to reopen his eyes right after he had just closed them. He saw Axel looking at him, worry evident on his face. "Oh my god, you're alive! Thank God…"

"What happened…?" Roxas asked, a bit hazy. It all seemed to be a blur in his mind.

"You mean you don't remember?" Axel asked. Roxas shook his head, although that in itself seemed to be a bit hard. Axel looked away sadly. "You tried to kill yourself."

It suddenly came flooding back to Roxas. Everything Kairi had said, all his thoughts when he was holding the knife, everything. "Oh…" he said. "How come you saved me then?"

"Roxas, I-"

"Did it ever occur to you that I wanted to die?" Roxas asked, although there was no real malice in his voice.

"Roxas…" Axel looked down, but then he stared up at the blond resolutely. He brought his hand forward, and he moved Roxas's face to make sure green was staring directly at blue, "Listen Roxas. I'll tell you this now. Before I died, I didn't care so much about life. Then I became an angel, and I was always busy. I realized that life shouldn't be rushed, and it shouldn't end too quickly. You have to take it slow and enjoy it. I never enjoyed mine, but now that I'm an elite seraph, I guess I have a little more slack. But now, your brother is always overworked, and you have to just enjoy your life as a human. I don't want you to be stressed out like your brother."

"Well why should I be living?" Roxas asked, looking at Axel. "I'm not doing anything positive as a human. Why can't I just die? No one cares about me… Just like Kairi said…"

"But I care Roxas," Axel said, looking intently at Roxas. "I don't know why… But I care for you. You're so weak, and fragile, but you possess an energy completely your own. I want to see more of you like that, Roxas. I-"

Axel never finished his sentence, as his lips instantly met up with Roxas's. Roxas was admittedly caught off guard, but the kiss was patient and loving. It told him how much Axel really cared without Axel having to say anything at all. Axel backed away. "Roxas… I think I love you… And I don't want you to die, because if you do, there's no guarantee we'll be able to spend time together."

"Axel," Roxas said, his throat becoming drier. "I… I like you a lot. No matter how much I hate you sometimes, you've done nothing but look out for me. In this short time I've known you… I've been able to trust you with everything."

"Then please," Axel said, his voice sincere. "Don't die. I want to spend your life with you, and when it's done, we can go on to see your brother in Heaven."

"That sounds good..." Roxas said, smiling. "If you want Axel… I will live."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Axel said, smiling as he moved in for another kiss.

* * *

**A/N: Erh… I really didn't mean to bash Kairi in this, but I just needed a female character that was close to Sora, and well… Kairi seemed to fit. I hope I didn't offend anyone… So yeah, don't flame me for making her a bitch in this fic. **

**I hoped you enjoyed this belated AkuRoku day present!**


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